Of the 19 features in the Competition lineup for the top award, only one is directed by a woman: Un Chateau en Italie (A Castle in Italy), from Italy-born filmmaker Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi.

It's the third feature from the actress-turned-director, whose younger sister Carla Bruni is married to former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Bruni-Tedeschi co-wrote and stars in the film, which focuses on a family forced to sell its Italian home. The well-connected multihyphenate also will have to shoulder the burden of being the sole flag-bearer for female filmmaking at this festival.

There was an outcry last year when no female directors made the Cannes Competition cut.

At the time, Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux noted the absence with regret but added that he had no intention of introducing a quota of slots to help promote female filmmakers.

Bruni-Tedeschi's inclusion this year is unlikely to silence those who think the world's No. 1 film festival is very much a gentleman's club.

But while woman directors are scarce In Competition at Cannes, female voices can be heard in the festival's Un Certain Regard section.

Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring, starring Emma Watson, opens Un Certain Regard, and six of the 15 films in the section are directed by women, including former Palme d'Or contender Claire Denis, representing with her latest drama, Les Salauds.

Festival organizers have been known to offer favored invitees their preference, and Coppola and her producers may have decided the still-prestigious opening-night slot for Un Certain Regard was better than the eye-watering scrutiny of Competition.

After all, Coppola's most recent film In Competition in Cannes -- the Kirsten Dunst starrer Marie Antoinette in 2006 -- received a hostile reception from festivalgoers.

Fremaux and Festival de Cannes president Gilles Jacob will be hoping the Competition films garner rapturous receptions and this year is judged a fine vintage. Otherwise, the voices will get louder demanding more space for female filmmakers at Cannes' top table.